Nowadays, we hear a lot about a strong historical parallel between AI transforming software development today and software transforming traditional engineering decades ago. In both cases, a new layer of abstraction shifts professionals away from manual work toward modeling, design, and decision-making. So, I asked Claude.ai about this analogy. Here is the answer:

“The parallel is striking. In both cases, a powerful new tool class arrives, dramatically accelerates the work, raises the complexity ceiling, and shifts the required skills — but doesn’t eliminate the human. The engineer who mastered CAD outcompeted the manual drafter; similarly, the developer who masters AI tools will outcompete one who doesn’t.

The key insight in both eras: the tool handles computation and execution, while the human retains ownership of judgment, architecture, and intent.”

It must be acknowledged that LLMs can produce high-quality summaries of a wide range of related discussions. Rather than adding to the general discussion, I shared a story at LinkedIn that I witnessed firsthand in the 1980s and let the readers draw their own conclusions.